


Back On The Tracks

by hollyblue2



Series: Writing Challenge Entries [27]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: (background) - Freeform, Boarding School, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Memories, Runner!Dean, competitive destiel, destiel are a TEAM, married!destiel, runner!cas, runner!claire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 04:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17912117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollyblue2/pseuds/hollyblue2
Summary: Dean and Cas go back to their old boarding school to attend their daughter's track and field day and end up competing in a three-legged parent's race.





	Back On The Tracks

**Author's Note:**

> My brain went to sleep hours ago, so I apologise profusely for any mistakes, this had to be published tonight as it's the last day to do so. This was written for the Writers of Destiel Weekly Word prompt 'time flies' :) 
> 
> Due to the nature of my idea, I made up where they live (someone suggested the place would be south-west America somewhere) and I also made up the boarding school. The three-legged parent's race is a thing that happened in one of the schools I attended when I was younger (but I since found out that they don't this in the US - well now they do!)

*******

Tipaluca Academy’s yearly track and field day for the Seniors has Dean and Cas lined up at the starting line, the hundred-meter mark lying ahead of them in the distance. Their legs nearest one another tied together with their daughter’s school tie – her last ditched hopes to ruin it for good.

“The track hasn’t changed in over twenty years,” Castiel comments, thinking back to when he went here as a student all those years ago.

“I won that race,” Dean says, elbowing his husband playfully as one of the teachers explains how the race works – first to the end wins, try not to fall over, but they do have first aid on standby – and Castiel looks over at him with a feigned scowl.

“I hated you for it,” he says, remembering how angry he had felt, having spent most of his childhood under the strict training of his parents, only to lose to some _kid_ who didn’t even want to be at the school.

“Oh, I heard. I swear everyone knew how much you hated me by the second week of the semester,” Dean laughs, but links his arms with Castiel. “You had that scowl on your face for the entire year.”

Castiel huffs and jabs his elbow into Dean’s side, making him stifle a yelp. “I didn’t want to go to this school, I was sent here,” the tone of Cas’ voice tells Dean he’s hit a sour spot, even after all this time and he’s not surprised. He’d been the youngest of six boys, and the only one to have been sent off to a boarding school.

“I know,” Dean takes a quick moment, and presses his forehead to Cas’ shoulder. He’s not so sure a kiss would be appropriate on the starting line of a hundred-meter race. “Now, _we_ have a race to win!”

“Inside first?”

“Inside first.”

The starting gun goes off and, inside legs first, they lumber their way down the track, the spongy Tartan Track beating beneath their feet.

Inside. Outside. Inside. Outside.

Once the rhythm is set, they’re off almost at a jog. The ever-present competitive side of Dean wants to look where the other parents are, but he knows he needs to keep facing forward. He’s got both his own and his husband’s ankles at risk and he doesn’t want either of them ending up in the back of an ambulance.

Dean can hear the determined, even breaths of Cas next to him, and a quick glance shows his furrowed brow and a bead of sweat from the warmth of the sun with exertion. A hundred meters comes up quick and they cross the line.

He looks back then, seeing a few parents barely walking, some doing a weird hop but others just behind them. They did, of course, come first.

Castiel unties them both and the freedom feels good, Dean bouncing up and down lightly to shake off the feeling.

“We’ve still got it!” Dean cheers, wrapping his arms around his husband. When he pulls back, Castiel is grinning from ear to ear. It’s been a very long time since they’ve competed, as now they simply run together for the enjoyment and the health benefits, and Dean knows just how much Castiel enjoyed competing.

“It was nice to compete _with_ you, instead of against you.”

“Please stop with the gross, before I shove both of you in a school locker,” Claire says with utter disgust, turning her nose just and catching both their attention just as Dean was about to plant a kiss on Cas’ lips.

“Claire!” Cas scolds, but Claire is laughing. Dean shrugs at his husband, she’s their daughter, what were they expecting.

Dean and Cas make their way to the podium, receiving a medal each from the principle, and they’re both grinning at each other even as they shake hands with the second and third runners.

“We had it in the bag from the start,” Castiel whispers and Dean rolls his eyes, looping a hand around Cas’ back as they make their way back over to Claire. They have a short break for lunch before Claire does her cross country run and the time goes by quickly.

Castiel massages his leg, stretching out on the picnic blanket they’d brought for their comfort.

“You okay?”

“Yeah – just, had to run with—” Castiel pauses, working a particular ache and wincing. “With you.”

Dean grumbles, but the memories of old times simmer past.

***

**_20 years earlier_ **

 

Dean’s breathing hard after a particularly hard race against his athletics team. He rips his training bib off before downing half a bottle of water, stopping just before he feels ill. In the corner of his eye, he spots Castiel – stuck up, scowling, hot as a slice of pecan pie – pulling his shirt over his head and using it as a towel to wipe away the sweat.

He hates him. He knows that much. But the guy is good at running, he’s competitive and easy on the eyes too.

Dean swallows, then wanders over, using the excuse of stretching his legs out to walk past Castiel. “Good run,” he says as he passes Castiel’s back. The muscles there tighten momentarily before loosening off, and he turns to him.

“Pardon?”

Dean clears his throat, passing his water bottle from one hand to the other. “I said _good run_ ,”

Castiel seems to stumble for a moment before saying, “thanks,” and the smile Dean receives is heart stopping. Gone are the frown lines, replaced with small crinkles in the corner of eyes and his eyes light up something fierce, something new. “You too, Dean.”

*******

**_Present_ **

“Ah, never thought I’d be back here. Least of all with you next to me.”

“You came around,” Castiel says gently.

“You had a gorgeous smile,” Dean counters, picking the last grape from the bunch of popping it in his mouth.

“And now we have a beautiful daughter, attending the same school we met at twenty-something years ago.”

“Yeah, never thought I’d see the day. Time flies, huh? Twenty years ago feels just like yesterday.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me all my mistakes, I will be fixing them tomorrow - cries to self :')


End file.
